The City of Santa Barbara bans all fireworks. Under the City Fire Code (Municipal Code Ch. 8.04, adopting Fire Code Section 5601.1.3), the manufacturing, possession, storage, sale, use, and handling of fireworks are prohibited citywide, including state-approved 'Safe and Sane' fireworks.
Santa Barbara has its own City Fire Department and adopts the California Fire Code with local amendments through Municipal Code Chapter 8.04 (Ordinance No. 5920). Fire Code Section 5601.1.3, added by that ordinance, states that 'the manufacturing, possession, storage, sale, use and handling of fireworks are prohibited in the City of Santa Barbara.' Because California 'Safe and Sane' fireworks are only legal where a local agency permits their sale and use, and Santa Barbara has not adopted such an allowance, no consumer fireworks are legal anywhere in the city. Narrow exceptions exist only for licensed activities: storage and handling under Fire Code Section 5604, manufacture and testing under Section 5605 and Health and Safety Code Division 11, and permitted public fireworks displays and pyrotechnics before a proximate audience under Title 19 and Section 5608. Under Section 5601.7 of the ordinance, the fire code official is authorized to seize and dispose of fireworks possessed or sold in violation, at the owner's expense. Statewide, California Health and Safety Code Division 11 (Section 12500 et seq.) separately makes possession of 'dangerous' fireworks (aerials, firecrackers, sky rockets) a misdemeanor. The city sits in or adjacent to High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones with a serious wildfire history, including the 2008 Tea Fire and 2009 Jesusita Fire.
Violation of the City Fire Code is a misdemeanor under Municipal Code Section 8.04.020 (amended Section 110.4); each day a violation continues after notice is a separate offense, with penalties as prescribed by state law and local ordinance. Fireworks may be seized and disposed of at the owner's expense. Under state Health and Safety Code Division 11, possession of dangerous fireworks is separately a misdemeanor.
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